Mice!

Mice!

Sat May 19, 2012 10:42 pm

I was moving my compost pile today to my garden and I took a scoop and found 3 baby mice in it! Creeped me out, so I just threw them back and ran away lol...

I didn't realize mice would make a nest inside a compost heap! It's weird too because my composter is one of those hard plastic shells. It gets super hot in there and there's very little oxygen. The mice were breathing but they weren't really doing much but laying there. Luckily there were no parents around.

Is this common? I didn't think anything but insects could live in a compost heap do to the heat and lack of air.

If you haven't turned over a pile since last fall, it's no longer hot and hasn't been for awhile. Mice love the insulation and will make nests in compost over the winter.

What you need is a snake. Just kidding. :-]

I second the advice to turn over and use your piles regularly. You might be surprised to learn that there were mice around already, they just took up residence in the bin. My cat finds them in the suburban lawn.